European stocks were little changed as Vodafone Group Plc led telecommunications shares higher and as investors waited for a U.S. Senate committee to vote on a resolution enabling President Barack Obama to attack Syria.

A Eurostat report today confirmed that second-quarter gross domestic product in the 17-nation euro area grew 0.3 percent from the previous three-month period. That matched the median estimate of economists.

National benchmark indexes advanced in 12 of the 18 western-European markets today. France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX gained 0.2 percent. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent. The number of shares changing hands in Stoxx 600-listed companies was 12 percent greater than the average of the past 30 days, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 1.4 percent as the Repubblica newspaper reported that former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may consider withdrawing his support for the coalition government.

Ryanair slumped 13 percent to 5.87 euros. The Dublin-based company said that full-year net income may fall short of its forecast range of 570 million euros ($753 million) to 600 million euros. Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary said greater competition on prices and increased capacity had contributed to lower fares in September, October and November.

EasyJet Plc, Europe’s second-biggest discount airline, sank 5.1 percent to 1,215 pence. An index of travel and leisure companies lost 1.6 percent, the largest decline of the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600.

ProSiebenSat.1 dropped 5 percent to 30.68 euros. KKR and Permira are selling a stake valued at more than 760 million euros through Lavena, a holding company. The private-equity investors will still hold about 33 percent of ProSiebenSat.1 after the sale. Lavena said it is selling the 25 million shares through an accelerated bookbuild.

Iliad SA fell 2.7 percent to 179 euros. Xavier Niel, the founder of the French low-cost mobile-phone carrier, sold a 3 percent stake valued at about 320 million euros based on yesterday’s closing price. Niel still has a controlling holding of 55.3 percent, Paris-based Iliad said in a statement.

Upgrades:

Verizon (VZ) upgraded to Outperform at Robert W. Baird; target raised to $53 from $52.

Downgrades:

Microsoft (MSFT) downgraded from Overweight to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Other:

Microsoft (MSFT) reiterated at Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets, target lowered from $37 to $35.

European stocks retreated for a second day as Ryanair Holdings Plc led a decline by travel and leisure companies. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares advanced.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.3 percent to 300.75 at 10:12 a.m. in London, after earlier advancing as much as 0.3 percent. European stocks declined in the final half an hour of trading yesterday as U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner said he will support President Barack Obama’s call for military action against Syria. The Stoxx 600 lost 2.4 percent last week on concern the U.S. and its allies would take military action against the regime of Bashar al-Assad for chemical-weapon attacks that the Obama administration said killed more than 1,400 people.

A report today confirmed that services activity in the euro zone expanded in August for the first time in 19 months. Markit’s purchasing managers index climbed to 50.7 in August from 49.8 in July. The median economist estimate had predicted a final reading of 51 for the PMI.

A Eurostat report confirmed that second-quarter gross domestic product in the 17-nation euro area grew 0.3 percent from the previous three-month period. That matched the median estimate of economists.

Ryanair slumped 14 percent to 5.84 euros. The Dublin-based company said that full-year net income may fall short of its forecast range of 570 million euros ($751 million) to 600 million euros. Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary said greater competition on prices and increased capacity had contributed to lower fares in September, October and November.

EasyJet, Europe’s second-biggest discount airline, sank 7.1 percent to 1,189 pence. An index of travel and leisure companies lost 2.5 percent, the largest decline of the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600.

ProSiebenSat.1 dropped 5.3 percent to 30.57 euros. KKR and Permira are selling a stake valued at more than 760 million euros through Lavena, a holding company. The private-equity investors will still hold about 33 percent of ProSiebenSat.1 after the sale. Lavena said it is selling the 25 million shares through an accelerated bookbuild.

Iliad SA fell 3.5 percent to 177.40 euros. Xavier Niel, the founder of the French low-cost mobile-phone carrier, sold a 3 percent stake valued at about 320 million euros based on yesterday’s closing price. Niel still has a controlling holding of 55.3 percent, Paris-based Iliad said in a statement.

Delhaize Group retreated 7.3 percent to 46.10 euros. The owner of the Food Lion supermarket chain said Frans Muller will take over as chief executive officer on Nov. 8. The retailer also announced that Roland Smith has resigned as the CEO of Delhaize America. Exane BNP Paribas SA’s Andrew Gwynn wrote that the shares may fall because Smith has left the company’s U.S. subsidiary.

FTSE 100 6,429.28 -39.13 -0.60%

CAC 40 3,939.89 -34.18 -0.86%

DAX 8,123.89 -56.82 -0.69%

Asian stocks rose for a fifth day, reversing earlier losses, as a weakening yen boosted Japanese shares and Canon Inc. surged on plans for a share buyback.

Nikkei 225 14,053.87 +75.43 +0.54 %

Hang Seng 22,324.22 -70.36 -0.31 %

S&P/ASX 200 5,161.64 -34.93 -0.67 %

Shanghai Composite 2,127.62 +4.51 +0.21 %

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s largest bank, climbed 2.1 percent.

Canon gained 3.8 percent in Tokyo after the camera maker said it will spend as much as 50 billion yen ($502 million) to buy back its shares.

Samsung Life Insurance Co. sank 5.2 percent in Seoul after the insurer’s fourth-biggest shareholder sold three million shares at a discount to yesterday’s closing price.

Nikkei 225 13,978.44 405,52 2,99%

Hang Seng 22,382.89 207,55 0,94%

S & P / ASX 200 5,196.57 8,29 0,16%

Shanghai Composite 2,123.11 24,66 1,18%

FTSE 100 6,468.41 -37.78 -0.58%

CAC 40 3,974.07 -31.94 -0.80%

DAX 8,180.71 -63.16 -0.77%

DJIA 14,834.00 23.65 0.16%

S&P 500 1,639.76 6.79 0.42%

NASDAQ 3,612.61 22.74 0.63%